World's Greatest Zoo - Disney's Animal Kingdom!

We were both pretty excited when we woke up on Day 4 because we had planned to spend this day at the Animal Kingdom! We had lots of fun memories of Animal Kingdom from our 2005 trip to Disney and couldn't wait to go back and see all the animals. Plus, we knew they were building this...


Expedition Everest Roller Coaster...and it was our turn to ride it!


A very foggy Animal Kingdom when we arrived, but you can see from the Everest picture that once it lifted, it was the most beautiful day!

Beautiful day for a Kilimanjaro Safari

They are actually helping to reintroduce the rhino population through Disney's Worldwide Conservation Initiative.




Didn't actually zoom in very much for this picture...it was that close to us!


One of the best shows at Disney!


I was too caught up in the show to get many pictures =)


I waited quite a while for this hippo to come up for air so I could take this picture. I love it!


Finding Nemo, the Musical!!


Another fabulous Disney production!


Yet another gigantic Christmas tree


Love the Animal Kingdom!!

Our Favorite - Hollywood Studios!!

On day 3 we ventured to our favorite of the four Disney parks...Hollywood Studios! We actually got up that morning and headed to Downtown Disney to pick up a few Souvenirs and then made our way to the park. We spent both Day 3 and Day 5 at Hollywood Studios because it was just that much fun!!


We love Hollywood Studios!!


First stop, the extreme stunt show! They were building this when we were last in Disney in 2005, so we couldn't wait to see it!


It was "extreme" indeed! We got some pretty neat video of some of this show, but haven't been able to successfully upload to our blog...will have to try again later.


These two have been known to pull some stunts of their own!
G, make sure Zack sees this one...I took it just for him!!


My favorite princess and Disney story again!


Hollywood Studios Christmas Tree


Boat of Characters at Disney's Fantasmic Show...where we sat on the front row...and found out you will get a little wet =)


The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!!






It was so amazing! Again, we have video, but can't upload...I can't wait for you to see it...the lights dance every ten minutes!

A Day at the Magic Kingdom

We woke up on day 2 to much different weather...record heat!! The temperature reached 89 degrees on our Magic Kingdom day...much different that the 40 degrees we had at Epcot the day before. Back to short sleeves and Florida weather =)


Hanging out at the castle with my Prince Charming


Gotta love the Pirates!


So we waited for a little while in line for something called the "Astro Orbiter." We couldn't see what we were waiting in line for since it was on top of a building above our heads, but we thought, "Why not?" Once we arrived at the top, we discovered it to be something similar to the Dumbo Flying Elephants...definitely a kiddie ride, but since we had waited so long, we (yes, the two of us) crammed ourselves into a rocket and rode it anyway =)


Bayou Boat to celebrate The Princess and The Frog


Cinderella and her Prince Charming (though not as handsome as mine :)


My favorite Disney princess, Belle


Magic Kingdom Christmas Tree
Looks like it was about to get stormy, but thankfully, it didn't!


The ONLY kind of mouse I love, ha!

I took this picture to show Kade, our almost 3 year old friend, that we went to see Mickey Mouse. The night before we left, I told him that I was going to tell him a secret...we were going to see Mickey Mouse! To this he thought for a minute and responded "Well Lissa, I'm gonna tell you a secret...I'm going to see Goofy!" It was kind of like he was saying "Yea right, and I'm the Queen of England!" It was so funny, as Kade always is, so I took this so I could show him, we really did see Mickey Mouse....


...and Goofy too!

Where to start...how about the beginning?

We've now been home from our winter Disney getaway for a week and I've wanted so much to blog about our trip but haven't had a clue where to even start...so I've decided to start in the most logical place...the beginning! It has honestly always been a dream of mine to visit Disney during the Christmas season...to see all the lights and decorations done in true Disney style. This year it became reality! It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more! December has definitely become my favorite time of year to visit...not to mention it was pretty nice to go from 18 degrees to 81 in just a few hours!

We spent our first Disney day at Epcot. Here's a bit of what we did while we were there...

Notice we are in long sleeves...it was freezing! It was even colder when night fell, and I was tempted to buy one of those $60 Disney hoodies, but thank goodness I held out because it certainly warmed up by the very next day!


Visited with Nemo & Friends


Took a trip to Mars in Mission: Space


Check out that tree!


Stopped in Morocco for some lunch and delicious Baklava!


Went back to the U.S.A. where we found this life-size gingerbread house


What a recipe!


Enjoyed a nice drum show in Japan


Posed for a picture in Italy =) My favorite thing about Epcot is visiting the different countries. During Christmas, each country has a special event describing their Christmas traditions.


Visited some Vikings in Norway


Saw an amazing candlelight processional including a mass choir and orchestra, accompanied by celebrity narrator, Andy Garcia. They told the TRUE story of Christmas in the most beautiful way!


Watched IllumiNations fireworks show...definitely the best fireworks in Disney World!


Took in one last 3D show...Honey I Shrunk the Audience


And said "Good Night" to Epcot

Next Post: Disney Day 2 - The Magic Kingdom

Happy Early Birthday To Me =)

Last week my sweet husband treated me to an early birthday dinner at one of my favorite places...The Melting Pot!! We had our first Melting Pot experience during our anniversary trip to Portland last June and we were definitely ready for another one. We went out to celebrate a little bit early for two reasons:
1. We were leaving to go out of town (more posts on that to come)
2. This particular night was a one-night only fundraising dinner for St. Jude's Hospital, and who doesn't love a fondue fund raiser? =)


We love The Melting Pot! This one is in downtown Tacoma.


Course 1 - Cheddar Cheese Fondue


Course 2 - Salads
For those of you who know me well, you know I don't eat salad because I find lettuce disgusting. However, being the grown up girl I am becoming, I picked the California salad (on the left) which came with spinach and other greens besides lettuce. I made a good effort, and even enjoyed the first two bites or so, but that was about all I could stomach. Besides, I needed to save room for what was to come...


Course 3 - Meat and Veggies
We had two types of steak, chicken, salmon, and shrimp...yum, yum!


FINALLY!! Course 4 - Chocolate Fondue!! We chose white chocolate since we had a white and milk chocolate mix last time. The white chocolate is our absolute favorite!! And just look at all the yummies you get to dip in the chocolate...


They even brought out a special chocolate birthday surprise =)


I am so thankful to have a husband willing to go all out to make sure I have a special day. I love you Derek Thomas!!